


The best of the best

by Black98



Category: Top Gun (1986)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-15
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2018-08-15 04:29:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8042647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Black98/pseuds/Black98
Summary: Maverick arrives at Top Gun thinking everything will be about flying. However, the moment he sees Tom Kazansky for the first time he knows he has a problem. A big one.





	1. Prologue

Miramar, California 1986: 

 

The first time Pete “Maverick” Mitchell laid eyes on Tom Kazansky he knew he had a problem. 

A big one. 

The air in the cramped briefing room felt heavy with a heady mix of testosterone, sweat and the unmistakable stench of cigarette smoke. The eight flight crews were seated in neat rows, eagerly taking in Jester´s words as he talked about pilot stats from previous wars, about dogfighting. 

Mav could barely contain himself, adrenaline already making his heart pound and blood rushing in his ears. This was it, the day they had been waiting for. 8 weeks of flying, of high stakes dogfighting to crown the best of the best. 

Another wave of excitement washed through the room when Viper was introduced, and Mav glanced sideways at the guys seated to his left. 

“This gives me a hard on!” One of them mumbled, a tall laid-back guy that was slouching in his seat and kept stealing sideways glances at his companion. 

“Don´t tease me”, the other responded, grinning. 

Mav looked away, thinking that perhaps the duo were a little overfamiliar with each other. Being gay in the navy was not exactly a walk in the park. 

He had known from around the age of 16, and although it had taken him sometime to come to terms with it he had eventually decided there was no use deluding himself. Girls could be nice looking and all that, but apart from acknowledging this in an intellectual way there was nothing there for him. 

He supressed a sigh, trying to ignore his own thoughts by looking around the room. Distractions were something he could not afford at this point, what mattered was his flying. Nothing else. 

Then he spotted a striking blonde a few rows behind and to his left, and his mind went blank. 

Said blonde seemed unaware of his gaze at first, absently twirling a pen between two fingers. Then he suddenly looked up, electric blue eyes staring coolly back at Maverick. The pen had stopped its dance over the knuckles of his hand, and Mav was under the distinct impression that he was being sized up. 

The blonde was quite possibly the most good looking guy Mav had ever seen, and something about his mannerism communicated that he knew. Even seated he looked tall, with broad shoulders and the sort of build every guy dreamed of. Athletic without looking bulky, and with a sense of lithe elegance in every movement. 

Goose elbowed him, putting an abrupt end to his ogling. “Mav, what are you doing?” 

“Uh…just wondering who is the best”, he hastily covered, realizing that he had spoken quite load. 

Viper looked at them, an amused smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. 

“In case some of you are wondering who the best is, they are all up on this plaque on the wall, the best pilot and RIO from every class”, he paused, looking directly at Maverick. “You think your name is gonna be up there?”

Humility had never been Maverick´s thing, and he felt Goose´s infectious grin next to him when he responded “Yes sir!”. 

“That is a pretty arrogant attitude, considering the company you are in”. 

“Yes sir!”

Viper smiled. “I like that in a pilot”. 

Out of the corner of his eyes he could see the outline of sharp cheekbones and frosted blonde hair. The pen was back to its lazy, elegant writhe, and Mav found himself unable to resist the temptation of turning around to stare yet again. 

The guy next to the blonde glared at Mav, his arm not quite around the other but draped across the back of the sofa. Probably the guy´s RIO, and for whatever the reason he was definitely staking claim. Somehow he just knew that the newfound object of his desires was a pilot. He had to be. There was something in his eyes, an arrogance. 

The blonde simply gave him a rather unnerving smirk, and Mav quickly looked away, discreetly wiping his sweaty palms on his flight suit. 

That blonde meant trouble, in every sense of the word.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: 

”Mav, you wanna know who the best is?” Goose didn´t wait for his response. “That´s him over there, Iceman”. 

It was the blonde from earlier, looking immaculate in his dress whites and busy talking to some girl over in a corner. Mav felt as though someone had punched him the gut. 

“It’s the way he flies”, Goose droned on, seemingly oblivious to Mavericks inner conflict. “Ice cold, no mistakes”. 

They were at the O´club, a welcome break after a long first day of getting acquainted with the new base, new people and of course sizing up the other flight crews. Or at least that was what Mav kept telling himself. 

He kept stealing glances at Iceman, hastily looking away whenever he thought someone noticed. It was ridiculous, and yet he just couldn´t help himself. He was irrevocably drawn towards the other like a moth towards a flame, and he knew with certainty that sooner or later it was gonna get him into trouble. 

“Dude, you are so fucking obvious!” Goose hissed under breath. “The last thing that bastard needs is another ego boost because we are talking about him!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever”, Mav mumbled. 

His pants suddenly felt very constricting. 

Iceman had put his aviators on, which was giving Mav the creeps. It was now impossible to tell what he was looking at, and thus whether Mav´s excessive staring had been discovered. 

To make matters worse Goose decided to taunt Iceman´s ridiculously tall RIO, Slider, by asking why he wasn´t a pilot. The guy completely ignored Maverick, glaring daggers at Goose and exploiting those extra inches to their fullest. 

“Shut up Goose! Whose butt did you kiss to get here huh?”

Goose answered in stride; “The list is long but distinguished”. 

“So is my Jonson” 

Goose just grinned. “So, you are flying with Iceman?”

“Mr. Iceman to you”, Slider said, still ignoring Maverick although there was a noticeable hint of possessiveness in his voice. 

It seemed to be the opening the Iceman himself had been waiting for, because suddenly he was right there, sidling up next to slider, toothpaste commercial grin in place. Up close he looked even more perfect; refined features, great smile, and he had at least two inches on Maverick, come to think of it everyone did. He was good looking on a level that was bordering on annoying. And the fact that he was obviously aware of this made it even worse. Mav hovered between wanting to punch him in the face and kiss him, or perhaps a little bit of both. 

“Hey mother Goose, how is it going?” He asked, acting friendlier than Mav had expected. 

The way he carried himself seemed somehow sophisticated, like he didn´t quite belong among a bunch of rowdy pilots. 

“Good! Tom, this is Pete Mitchell. Pete, Tom Kazansky”. 

They shook hands. Tom´s grip was firm, confident. Mav couldn´t help but notice their proximity. They were standing maybe a half meter apart, and he could smell Iceman´s aftershave, all wintery pine needles and smoky wood. 

“Congratulations on Top Gun”, he said, voice still friendly, although there was something distinctly sinister in his gaze. 

“Thank you”, Mav replied nonchalantly, trying to play it cool. 

“Sorry to hear about Cougar, he and I were like brothers in flight school. He was a good man”. Again there was the faintest hint of something wicked hidden behind the friendly pretence.

“Still is a good man”, Mav corrected him. 

Another dazzling smile, only with more teeth, almost shark-like; “Of course, that´s what I meant”. Obviously it was not at all what he meant. 

To Mav´s surprise he stepped closer, one arm reaching forward for a bowl of peanuts by the bar. “So, figured it out yet?” He asked, gaze fixed on Mav´s face while he was chewing. 

“What is that?”

“Who is the best”

They were very close, too close. What the fuck is his problem? The other was literally dwarfing him standing so close. Mav was trapped between the edge of the bar counter and Iceman´s towering presence. It was fucking annoying. 

“I think I can figure that out on my own”, he said evenly. 

“Heard that about you, you like to work alone”. 

An odd, strained silence ensued, in which no one moved. Cool assessing eyes were watching Maverick intently, and he felt as though the other was staring right through him. The situation was part intimidating, part arousing. Mav doubted that the latter was Iceman´s intention, but still, it felt oddly sexual. Tension was building second by second, and despite the awkwardness they both refused to look away. 

Their little moment was shattered when Slider and Goose resumed their previous taunting, and Ice momentarily looked away, focused on the others. 

Mav was only half listening to the conversation, watching as Iceman emptied his shot glass, his eyes flickering back to Maverick. He was smirking because of something Slider said, eyes glittering slyly. 

“See you later”, he said, turning and disappearing in the crowd, Slider following like a lost puppy. 

“You can count on it”, Mav responded, more to himself than the others. 

“They were abused children!” Goose said, shaking his head with humour. 

Mav didn´t think it was funny at all. 

.

 

.

Maverick had never been afraid to pursue what he wanted. Quite the contrary. Most of the time he just took it, regardless of the consequences. 

They were in the mess hall eating breakfast, and he was busy staring at Iceman, thinking. That whole thing at the O´club last night had been a total disaster. He had hoped to perhaps “accidentally” catch Iceman on his own, but then Goose had dared him into taking a stupid bet, seducing a girl of his choosing. It had not ended well. 

Ice was looking at him, raising an unimpressed eyebrow. Clearly he knew he was being stared at. Mav supressed a sigh. What a fucking mess. 

“Don’t let him get under your skin Mav”, Goose said next to him. 

He shook his head, still staring. Ice had turned around, engaging in a conversation with Hollywood and Wolfman, who had joined his table. 

“Then why have you been staring at him for the last 15 minutes? You haven’t even eaten your breakfast!” 

“Uhh…I was just thinking”, Mav responded lamely, scrambling to buy time. 

The last thing he wanted was for Goose to find out the truth; that he had a crush on Tom fucking Kazansky. His new obsession was creating enough trouble as it was, and it was only their second day here. 

“Okay, but you better stop it, cause they are starting to notice”, Goose insisted, nudging Mav in the shoulder. 

They both looked over at the other table, only to catch Slider snickering and gesturing in their direction. What is he saying? He sure seems possessive of Kazansky, a little too much perhaps. Mav stapled his fingers thoughtfully together, studying Iceman´s profile, the elegant curve of his neck. 

“Mav! I am serious, you have to quit staring!” Goose hissed under his breath. 

Maverick snapped out of it just in time to catch Ice´s eyes, who reflected the temperature of a glacier. He was grinning that shark-grin again, all shiny white teeth and promise of trouble. Then he stood up in an annoyingly graceful manner, movements like liquid steel. 

There was a moment Maverick seriously thought he was coming over, but then he simply strolled casually past their table like it didn´t exist. Effectively communicating that whatever Mav´s deal was it was not worth his precious time. 

It took every ounce of self control in Mav´s possession to refrain from turning around to check out his ass.

 

tbc


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

The girl Mav had been hitting on at the officers club the previous evening turned out to be their civilian instructor.

He put his aviators on.

They were seated on folding chairs out in hangar 4, everyone sporting a hangover with the exception Tom fucking Kazansky who looked his normal perfect self. Of course the Iceman didn´t do hangovers.

Goose shrugged sheepishly when Jester introduced Charlie to the class, while Mav forced an awkward smile. This was so incredibly stupid. How the hell had he managed to pick the one female who worked at Top Gun? He wasn´t even interested, it was just a childish bet. He glanced to the side, were Iceman was seated, looking fresh and yummy as per usual.

The class went on, and he and Goose boasted about their encounter with the Mig when Charlie brought up the old statistics. It felt fucking good to be the centre of attention, and he glanced at Iceman again, wondering what he was thinking.

“You were in an inverted dive with a Mig-28?” Charlie asked, voice incredulous.

Mav smirked, giving an affirmative nod. She seemed impressed. Unfortunately the one he really wanted to impress did not seem impressed at all.

“Bullshit!” Ice exclaimed from behind him, poorly covered by a cough.

.

 

.

Mav barely registered Vipers words. Goose stood at attention next to him, expression serious. Buzzing the tower and going after Jester below the hard deck had been a bad move, but all that paled in comparison to his little altercation with Ice in the locker-room after.

It had been interesting up until the point were Ice threateningly snapped his jaws at him, and then it evolved into something far beyond exiting.

Gah, what he wouldn´t have given to drag the whole thing out just a little longer. Instead Jester had to show up and interfere at the worst possible moment. Mav´s skin was still burning were Ice had patted his shoulder in false encouragement as he left. Still, he wanted so much more than that.

“Understood?” Viper asked, voice stern and expression laced with annoyance.

Mav hadn´t listened to a word he was saying, but answered anyway. “Yes sir!”.

 

Rather than going straight home Mav went downtown, still wearing his uniform when he dropped by the store to buy some beer. Hollywood had organized a poker game in the evening, and he played best when he was mildly intoxicated.

He was strolling down the ails looking for alcohol when he spotted Iceman.

After the locker-room incident he was the last person Mav had expected to encounter, particularly at the convenience store. Sure, he had been expecting Ice to attend tonight’s game, but bumping into him now caught Mav off guard.

Doing a quick double take he stealthily approached the blonde, glancing curiously at the shopping basket on the floor next to him. It was filled to the brink with stuff, and Mav couldn´t help but register that Ice was standing in the gourmet department, looking at some fancy stuff Mav couldn´t even name.

“Didn´t know you cooked Kazansky”, he said, voice low.

To Iceman´s credit he didn´t even blink, even though he must have been taken by surprise. Instead he turned to fix Mav with his trademark stare, eyes cool and expression stonefaced.

“Mitchell….”, he acknowledged. Then he glanced at Mav´s empty basket. “If you are looking for the ladies department you should ask the staff”.

“Haha, very funny. What are you making anyway?” Mav asked, deciding it was about time they engaged in a conversation that didn´t evolve around throwing insults at each other.

Ice looked doubtfully at him, clearly suspecting some kind of ulterior motive. Not that he was wrong.

“You wouldn´t know”, he dismissed, promptly turning his back to Mav in a dismissal.

“Hey, I am still talking to you!”

“Yeah? I am not”.

Mav watched dumfounded as Ice grabbed something from the shelf and walked away as if he owned the place, a certain swagger in his step. Gah, he really did have a great ass, something the uniform did nothing to hide.

“Asshole!” Mav hollered after him.

Ice gave him the finger without turning his head, disappearing behind a row of shelves.

A number of options on how to handle the situation raced through Mav´s mind. Unfortunately he had always been a hot-head, a loose cannon that if provoked just the right amount was bound to explode.

Without thinking he let go of the shopping basked and stormed after Ice, fists shaking with rage. He skidded around the corner, catching Ice as he was about to reach for some stupid ingredient. Instead of slowing down Mav thundered right through him, pushing him into the shelf and tearing down neat rows of product.

Both Ice and half the selves contents ended up on the floor with a resonating bang.

Ice´s expression was adorably confused as he fell on his ass, smashed boxes of cereal all around him. Mav was still on his feet, the floor overflowing with small, colourful globules that crunched underneath his feet when he moved.

Ice´s uniform was smeared with them, and boy did he look unhappy about it.

His expression changed from shock to furious in the course of a split second, eyes burning. Mav thought it was kind of exhilarating to watch. He had never seen Ice lose his cool before, and this might be it.

“You stupid fucker!” Ice said, voice hoarse.

Mav was surprised he didn´t shout, or lose his cool for that matter. Because amazingly he was still in control, and somehow that slow burning, harnessed rage, tightly controlled and directed, was a hell of a lot more frightening.

“Ops”, Mav said.

Ice´s nostrils flared.

Despite the situation he somehow appeared graceful even as he stood up, uniform covered in coloured spots. Mav was starting to feel rather cautious. Ice was glaring at him, and suddenly the height difference felt like far more than two inches.

He was saved by one of the employees, who magically appeared just as Ice took a step towards him.

“Oh my, what happened here?” She exclaimed, taking in the spectacle.

“My friend here had an accident!” Mav hurriedly explained, literally feeling rage rolling off of Iceman in angry waves.

“Accidents happen”, she responded cheerfully.

Ice looked about ready to murder them both.

It was a fucking mess, food and boxes everywhere. Without so much as looking at Maverick Ice gestured at it, sending the girl his patented shark grin. “I am in a hurry, so my friend generously offered to clean this up”.

“Oh that is so nice!”

“Yeah? He will pay for the damaged groceries as well”, Ice said sweetly, showing off even more of those gleaming white teeth. The word “pay” was pronounced a tad sharper than what would have been normal.

Clearly all was not forgiven.

The girl beamed.

Before Mav had the time to object she was already ordering him around, and Ice threw him one last dirty look before he stalked off, probably feeling immensely pleased with himself.

So much for a normal conversation. Something told Mav that Ice was far from done with him over this. Still, he couldn´t help but feel exited at the prospect.

Tbc


End file.
